The latest research is very exciting but the encouraging new findings are from tests in mice, and we’re not mice - that means a cure is some way off

The headlines have been saying: “Cure for Alzheimer’s is within reach.”

Well, yes, the latest research is very
exciting, but a cure is a way off.

The encouraging new findings are from tests in mice, and we’re not mice.

There are many steps between lab tests on mice and a treatment in human beings.

Still,
these new discoveries are thrilling because they involve the first drug
to halt the brain degeneration that is at the basis of Alzheimer’s.

The
new compound works by switching off an overactive natural defence ­mechanism in the brain.

Researchers believe it is ­responsible for memory loss and mental decline in people with Alzheimer’s.

Scientists
are impressed.

Roger Morris from King’s College London, who wasn’t involved in the research, said: “This finding, I suspect, will be judged
by history as a turning point in the search for medicines to control and prevent Alzheimer’s.”

Giovanna
Mallucci, a neurologist at the University of Leicester, who led the research, said: “It’s the first time any compound has been given that prevents neurodegeneration.

“Now we know it’s possible to develop a treatment, this is a starting point.”

Dementia
affects about 820,000 people in the UK.

Scientists estimate that delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years would halve the number of people who die with the disease.

This new research, which was published in the journal Science ­Translational Medicine, refutes previous work blaming deposits of sticky proteins called amyloid that clog the brains of Alzheimer’s patients for the gradual loss of memory, cognitive abilities and personality.

The new theory suggests the proteins are simply a visible symptom, but not the actual cause.

So, how does it happen?

First
the brain begins producing sticky proteins that build up into “plaques”
in brain tissue.

Then a defence mechanism in the brain mistakenly switches off ­production of all proteins, resulting in a deficit of essential proteins needed for cells to function, so cells die.

The new drug allows sticky proteins to accumulate, but stops healthy cells dying.

In the latest study, scientists developed a drug that reverses the natural defence mechanism by blocking an enzyme called PERK that signals the build-up of the abnormal proteins.

The drug was tested in mice that were suffering from prion disease (think BSE), which is considered the best model for Alzheimer’s disease.

Mice
given the drug experienced no mental decline and performed normally in memory tests.

Their brain showed no neuron loss.

But mice given a control ­treatment rapidly developed movement disorders and memory problems.